I don't know about anyone else but I kind a like it when Congress is done "legislating." They've been at it for 237 years!
Will we ever reach a point when there are enough new laws? Maybe the year 2310? Or how about the year 2525? Perhaps 3045? Geez, they just keep passing more and more laws ...... When is enough, enough?
When voters stop looking at the federal government as a savior. When hurricanes stop hitting our shores. When grandmothers stop dying because they can't afford medicine. When crazy people stop shooting children. When terrorists are stopped at the border. Then they can stop passing legislation. IOW New legislation can be rejected when everything is perfect.
Most legislation is a response to a perceived need. In troubled times voters demand action. The legislation doesn't have to fix the problem but it does have to be offered. In 1936 FDR and the rats offered more of the same crap that didn't fix the economy in FDR's first 4 years. The GOP stood in opposition and got creamed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9yoZHs6PsUFDR's I Welcome Their Hatred Speech
"For twelve years this Nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing Government. The Nation looked to Government but the Government looked away."
The same do nothing congress who got beat in 1936 did awesome in 1928.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_federal_legislation,_1901%E2%80%932001#69th_United_States_CongressThis is wiki's list of major accomplishments of the Congresses. YMMV. When economic times are good and there is no war, the voters demand no change and the party that does nothing best wins. And no one did nothing better in the Roaring Twenties than the 69th Congress.
The only other way to suppress the voters desire for legislation is to show them how inept and powerless the government really is. Obamacare has the opportunity to cause suicides, widespread financial hardship, death through cancellations of policies, doctor flight to other nations, the degradation of the American health system to the point that foreigners don't come to America for treatment. Obamacare may have caused some heart attacks already. It boggles the mind the depth and breadth of the possible damage. Lots of people are getting hurt right now and the stories are getting on the drive-by media. Krauthammer says it's only going to get worse.
It is the result of government meddling with 1/6th of the American economy. If the economy takes another dump because of Obamacare the voters might not care so much that the GOP said "No Obamacare!" if we don't have a solution to the millions losing coverage right now.
The GOP needs some plan to replace Obamacare and mitigate the underlining problems of skyrocketing cost and our fellow Americans who have life threatening sickness and no insurance and no way to pay for treatments. Like I said the legislation doesn't have to solve the problems but it does need to seriously address them. Like solving street crime with midnight basketball.
Past that, the GOP is sitting pretty. Not only did we not bring Obamacare to life we tried very hard to kill it. 42 or 43 votes to repeal and a shutdown to defund. Nobody is pinning this stuff on us. We did all we could legally do with our majority in the House.
My glee in the rats predicament is tempered with the sadness it is causing millions of Americans, but I look at this as many parents might. Some times you got to let the voters make mistakes before they will learn. The voters call the shots an you can warn them but if you ignore them they will replace you with someone they like better.
I wonder if Cruz had succeeded...if the American people had risen up to stop Obamacare would it have stopped the millions of cancellations sweeping the US? Would America be oblivious to the effects of a law jammed through the Congress without Republican input or support? Maybe it would have worked, but the voters said no.